Electric-circuit controller.



"No. 93m.

C. J; COLEMAN.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

(Application filed Nov. 24, 1900.)

(No Ilodel.) 1 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

Patented Fob. I902.

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693,||C. Patented Feb. ll, I902. C. J. COLEMAN.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CCNTBCLLER. I I {Application m 'aa mi. 24, 1900. (No Modal.) 2 she,mshe t-2'.

' UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLYDE COLEMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE HALL SIGNAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,110, dated February 1 1, 1902. Application filed November 24, 1900. Serial No. 37,564. (No model.)

. Too/ll whom it may concern: drawings, the relay is provided with an in- Be it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN, a sulating block or body 1, to which are fixed citizen of the United States, and a resident of the usual bin ding-posts and on which are suplhe city, county, and State of New York, have ported the magnets 2, provided with the ar- 55 invented certain new and useful Improvemature-bar 3 for operating one of the conmentsinElectric-Circuit Controllers,of which tacts. -A liquid vessel 4 is supported by a the following is a specification. bracket 5 from a base 1. This vessel prefer- This invention relates to electric-circuit conably consists of an insulating body or portion trollers, and more particularly to the charac- 6,1nade, for example, ofglass or porcelain, and 60 for and arrangement of the contacts of such an insulating cap or top 7, made of vulcanite, circuit-controllers. e hard wood, glass, porcelain,or some other suit- The main purpose of the invention is to proable material. The body portion 6 is prefervide a pair of contacts which will insure effi ably made so as to be readily attached to or decient electrical connection when the contacts tached from the cap, so as to give access to the 65 are brought together and which when light contacts, which are normally within the vesning traverses the contacts will not be subsel. The drawings show for this purpose a ject to fusion. threaded flange 8, secured to the under side of The invention is especially useful in relays the cap 7, into which'the body portion 6 may connected with exposed line-wires, and more be screwed. Within this passage 4; are sup- 0 particularly where such line-wires form partported the contacts, which are opened and of electric signaling systems. vIn electricsigclosed by the magnets 2. One of these con naling systems the approved practice requires tacts consists of a cup 9, containing mercury, the contacts in a signal-circuit to be so arand the other corresponding contact consists ranged that when the contacts are opened the of one or more immersion-points 10. These 75 signal will go to danger and when they are contacts are connected in the circuit which closed the signal may go to safety, the it is desired to open and close, so that when purpose being to require the signal to be at the immersion-point is immersed in the merdanger in case of a break in a signal-circury the circuit is closed and when it is cuit, failure of battery, or other defect. The withdrawn from the mercury the circuit is 8o contact-points in a signal-circuit, however, broken. These contacts may be brought toare subject to fusion bylightning. Hence gether and separated by moving either one when the contacts are thus fused a signal is or the other, or both; but preferably the frequently caused to be at safety when it mercury-cup is stationary and the immershould be at danger. This defect in consion-pointismademovable. In the best form 85 tacts of signal-circuits has become oneof of the invention: a bracket 11 is secured to great importance. Contacts which are subthe under side of the cap 7 and supports the ject to fusion, as described, may readily more mercury-cup 9 at its lower end. The vessel than ofiset all of the other advantages and e 6 contains a suitable liquid 12, such as safeguards of a signaling system. naphtha or alcohol, which envelops the pair 0 40 In the accompanying drawings, forming of contacts and keeps them bright and clean part of this specification, and in which like and prevents them from oxidizing. The vesre'ference-numerals designate corresponding sel 4 is provided with a vent-orifice to enable parts, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of gas or vapor arising from the liquid 12 to es- I the relay embodying theinvention. Fig. 2 is cape from the containing vessel, and this 5 a front elevation of the relay shown in'Fig. vent-orifice is provided with a liquid seal, to

1 with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a secbe presently described. By this arrangetional plan view illustrating the contacts ment if lightning traverses the contacts shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a diagramtheir fusion cannot take place, and hence matic view of a signaling system to which the these contacts may separate and open the loo 5o invention is applied. circuit in which they are included at the time Referring now more particularly to the required. The heat evolved from such passage of the lightning would be largely absorbed and dissipated by the liquid 12, and any mercury which might be vaporized by the passage of the lightning would be condensed by the liquid and fall to the bottom of the vessel 4. The accumulation of gas or vapors generated by the heating of the liquid 12 would pass off through the vent-orifice in the vessel 4. In the present embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a bracket 13, similar to and insulated from the bracket 11,'carrics the mercury-cup 14, and the circuit, which is connected with the brackets on the outside of the cap 7, is closed by bridging the cups 9 and 14. Mercurycups 15 and 16, which are supported by brackets 17 and 18, are connected in another circuit, which is closed by bridging the mercury-cups 15 and 16. A bracket 19 carries an arm 20, pivotally mounted thereon, which is provided at its outer ends with bridgingpieces 21 and 22, the ends of which carryimmersion-points, such as immersion-points 10, adapted to be immersed in and withdrawn from the mercury-cups for the purpose of closing and opening the circuits. When one end of the arm 20 is depressed, the mercurycups 9 and 14 are electrically connected through the bridge-piece 21, and when the other end of the arm 20 is depressed the circuit through the mercury-cups 9 and 14 is broken, and the circuit through the mercury-cups 15 and 16 is closed through the bridge-piece 22. In arranging the vent-orilice for the vessel 4 I preferably provide an annular cup 23, secured to and extending above the cap 7, and a cap 24, whose side wall extends into the cup 23 intermediate to its side walls. The cup 23 ismade to contain a suitable sealing liquid, preferably mercury, which fills the space between the inner and outer side walls of the cup 23 and on both sides of the cap 24, thus forming an inner column and an outer column. The cap 24is closed at its top and open, of course, at its bottom, asshown. I preferably arrange the cap 24 and cup 23 so that the inner column will be thinner than the outer column. I also preferably provide the outer wall of the cup 23 with an enlargement 25 and the inner wall with a contracted portion 26, so as to provide enlarged spaces at the tops of these walls to prevent the overflow of the sealing liquid. Connected to the arm or lever 20 is a connection or rod 27 for actuating the mov-' which rises from the liquid 12 in the vessel 4 eeano permit the accumulated vapor to escape, and thus this vapor is enabled to escape to the outside air by passing up through the outer column of the sealing liquid when the pressure of the vapor has reached a certain point in the vessel 4. Thus the sealing liquid prevents the accumulation of undue pressure of vapor and at the same time prevents the eutrance of air into the vessel 4, which might occasion an explosive mixture, and the sealing liquid also prevents the entrance of dust or other foreign matter into the vessel 4.

Various embodiments of the several features of the invention may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, For example, the purpose and advantage of the liquid 12, which envelops the contacts, may be attained, at least in part, if this liquid only covers the contacts at the time they separate. The immersed points, for example, after separating from the mercury might move entirely above the surface of the enveloping liquid. It would be better, of course, to have the contacts permanently and entirely immersedintheenvelopingliquid. Moreover, while I prefer for the sake of compactness and convenience, as well as economy, and for other reasons to employ the liquid-sealed vent-orifice to provide a passage for a connection from outside the vessel 4 with the moving contact inside said vessel, the invention is not limited to such an arrangement. This connection may extend from the contact inside the cup to the outside of the cup through some otherappropriate opening. Again, any means may be employed for actuating the movable contact, such as electric, pneumatic, mechanical, or other means. Furthermore, it is not even essential that the movable contact within the vessel have a mechanical connection with the outside of said vessel, since a magnet on the outside of the vessel may be employed to move said contact by the force of magnetic attraction operating through the wall of the vessel.

In the diagram shown in Fig. 4 a relay embodying the invention already described is connected up with signal-circuits for signals which stand normally at danger. In said diagram, 31, 32, and 33 represent three blocks of a track. 4 Blocks 32 and 33 are guarded by the signals 34 and 35, respectively. The rails of the block 32 are connected in a normally closed circuit, which includes the magnets 2, operating the armature-bar 3, which is in operative connection with the lever 20, carrying immersion-points at one end to bridge the mercury-cups 9 and 14 and carrying at its other end immersed points to bridge the mercury-cups 17 and 18. The circuit of the signal 35 is normally open at the mercurycnps 9 and 14. The rails of the block 31 are connected up with another magnet 2, having its contacts arranged in the same way as that just described. The circuit of the signal 34 is normally open at its mercury-cups 9 and 14 and is normally closed at the mercury- ICC cups 17 and 18. A train 'on the block 31. moving in the direction of the arrow shunts the magnet 2 in the usualmanner, thereby since its circuit will be broken at 17 and 18.

The signal 35 goes to safety, since its circuit will be closed at 9 and 14. If the contacts at 17 and 18 in the circuit of the signal 34 were ordinary metallic contact-s, lightning striking the signal-circuit would be apt to fuse the contacts, so that a train entering block 31 might put the signal 34 to safety, although another train was in block If, however, my circuit controller, which has been already described, is employed, as indicated in Fig. 4, lightning would be unable to fuse the contacts at 17 and 18 in the circuit of the signal 34, so that the effects of lightning would not enable the signal 34 to go to safety when it ought to be at danger. It will be understood that-the circuit-controller which is the subject of this invention not only prevents the fusion, of contacts due to lightning, but it also prevents sparking of the contacts with its attended evils.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A circuit-controller including in combinationa cup designed to hold body of mercury as one. contact; an immersion-point as the other contact, said contacts being so arranged that they maybe brought together and separated to close and open the circuit; and a closed vessel designed to contain a suitable liquid to envelop said contacts and having a liquid-sealed vent-orifice.

2. A circuit-controller including in combination a cup containing a body of mercury as one contact; an immersion-point as the other contact, said contacts being so arranged that they may be brought together and separated to close and open the circuit; and a closed vessel containing a suitable liquid to envelop said contacts and having a liquidsealed vent-orifice.

3. A circuit-controller includingin combi nation a cup designed to hold abody of mercury as one contact; an immersion-point as the other contact, said contacts being so arranged that they may be brought together and separated to close and open the circuit; and a closed vessel designed to contain a suitable liquid to envelop said contacts and having a mercury-sealed vent-orifice. 4.. A circuit-controller including in combination a cup designed to hold a body of mercury as one contact; an immersion-point as the other contact, said contacts being so arranged that they maybe brought together i and separated to close and open the circuit;

and a'closed vessel designed to contain a suitable liquid to envelop said contacts and havin g a mercury-sealed vent-orifice leading from the interior of said vessel above the liquid therein.

5. A circuit-controller including in-combination a cup designed to hold a body of mercury as one contact; an immersion-point as the other contact, means for bringing together and separating said contacts to close and open the circuit; and a' closed vessel designed. to 'contain a suitable liquid to envelop said contacts and having a liquid-sealed vent-orifice.

6. A circuit-controller includingin combination a cup designed to hold a body of mercury as one contact; an immersion-point as the other contact; a closed vessel designed to tacts and having a liquid-sealed vent-orifice; one of said contacts being stationary and the other movable within said vessel so that said contacts may be brought together and separated to close and open the circuit, said movable contact having an actuating connection extending outside the liquid vessel through its vent-orifice.

7. A circuit-controller including in combination a vessel designed to contain a suitable liquid and comprising an insulating-cap and a readily-detachable body portion, said cap having a liquid-sealed vent-orifice; a cup designed to hold a body of mercury as one contact and supported by said cap within the body of said vessel; an immersion-point within said vessel and constituting the other concontain a suitable liquid to envelop said contact'and arranged to move into and out of contact with the mercury to close and open the circuit, said immersion-point having a connection extending through the vent-ori-' fice of said cap; said contacts being arranged and designed to be enveloped by the liquid in said vessel.

8. A circuit-controller including in combi V nation a vessel containing a suitable liquid andhaving a vent-orifice in its top; a liquid seal for said orifice comprising an annular cup containing a sealing liquid and a vertically-movable cap having its side wall immersed in the sealing liquid of the cup intermediate the side walls thereof; a cup'containing mercury as one contact and supported within the vessel from the top thereof; an

immersion-point movable into and out of the mercury to close and open the circuit; and an actuating connection for the immersionpoint extending from within the vessel out through the vent-orifice and liquid seal, and secured to the cap of the liquid seal, the contacts beingimmersed in the liquid contained in said vessel.

, t 9. In a signaling system for railways, the

said contacts including a body of mercury and an immersion-point, whereby in case of lightning on the signal-circuit, fusion of the contacts will be prevented and the signal will holding the said contact-points designed to be thus enabled to go to danger at the proper contain a suitable liquid to envelop said contime, a closed vessel having a liquid-sealed tacts.

vent-orifice and containing a suitable liquid In testimony whereof I have signed my 15 5 in which the contacts are immersed. name to this specification in the presence of 10. A circuit-controller including in coinbitwo subscribing witnesses.

nation a vessel designed to hold a body ofl 7 X mercury as one contact, an immersion-point CLXDE COLEMAN as the other contact, means for bringing the i \Vitnesses:

10 contacts together and for separating them to JOHN O. GEMPLER,

close and open the circuit, and a vessel for EDWIN SEGER. 

